Vladimir Putin is calling on the conservatives of the world to unite-behind him.

The Kremlin leader's full-throated defense of Russia's "traditional values" and his derision of the West's "genderless and infertile" liberalism in his annual state-of-the-nation address last week was just the latest example of Putin attempting to place himself at the vanguard of a new "Traditionalist Conservative International."

The speech came on the heels of the appointment of Dmitry Kiselyov-the television anchor who has harshly criticized gays and lesbians-as head of the new Kremlin-run media conglomerate Rossia Segodnya. And just days before Putin's address, the Center for Strategic Communications, an influential Kremlin-connected think tank, held a press conference in Moscow to announce its latest report. The title: "Putin: World Conservatism's New Leader."